Worth Repeating Again- The Amazing Disappearing Article: Disney CEO Fumbles Entry to China

As we all can read in just about any news source, the current state of The Walt Disney Company is a mess. A few results of bad upper management and hubris: 1- The creation of the Star Wars hotel ie Galactic Star Cruiser and its closure.  2- The cancelling of the Lake Nona Disney headquarters move, along with the threat to quit investing in Walt Disney World supposedly because of the company's pissing match with the state governor. 3- The failure of Disney+. 4- Allowing Universal Orlando to march on and take more and more of a Florida theme park vacation. If you go way, you can discover how relatively new CEO Robert Iger cut ties with J.K. Rowling and gave away the right to Harry Potter theme park attractions. Yes, he really did. 

Here's an article that appeared- and then was removed- from the Huffington Post. It criticized Robert Iger and the Walt Disney Company's plan for their entry into the Chinese market, and its potential effect on Shanghai Disneyland. 

This must have angered him so much that he used his second wife's influence to have it yanked. So, wife Willow Bay pulled the strings to make the unflattering article disappear. 

I hate that kind of corporate or governmental power play!  So, here it is below, courtesy Google.  (And thanks to the WDWMagic Boards where the article was resurrected...)

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Sorry Mickey, they're just not that into you. Minnie, you either.

For that matter, you can take the whole stable -- the "Fab Five" of Walt Disney's animated creations -- and, despite a media machine that churns a very different story, China has largely been a land where the fabled wishes, dreams and magic of the Walt Disney Company and its brand have virtually no connection with the consumer. As valued as that consumer is in the economic theater of globalism, the iconic brand synonymous with America has little appeal and less traction among the newly seated audience in the Chinese mainland.

To its 'vanilla on toothpaste' helmsman, Robert A. "Bob" Iger, who has shown himself to be an able cobbler of assets but a less than visionary leader of the media colossus that is the Walt Disney Company, this troubling if known and growing headwind threatens to undermine the content-heavy but culturally aloof purveyor of demographically unshackled product. For in his zeal to expand its library of content, Bob Iger has drop-kicked the Disney moniker to enter new and expanding marketplaces only to position a product that runs well afar of the expectation of the Disney bounce.

In so doing, the once unrivaled status of the Disney brand has become a catch-all for entertainment and its associated byproducts that are increasingly a strange and sometimes conflicted ragbag of franchised acquisitions presented as some sort of media mélange for all ages and all palates. Or, as John Dreyer, the longtime and immediate past head of corporate communications for the Walt Disney Company, said upon the publication of the column Disney CEO Readies Magic Carpet for Exit, "Disney losing its Disney way."

With the company making its grandest play for a market that dwarfs all others, Disney has found itself adrift in a crisis of identity that breaches the foundation of the castle upon which an empire was built. For as turrets were raised, wings were added and a moat of meticulously positioned whimsy was filled in to expand the Disney footprint, something that looks decidedly more pedestrian than the fantastical inspiration for one of the world's most coveted brands has emerged.

Leverage has become the arch of entry into the Disney-verse, while the brand has been marginalized into a holding vehicle for assets that are worth more separately than that vested in the castle itself.

As Mr. Iger said at the 2013 Fortune Global Forum held in Chengdu:

I think the first thing you have to do is you have to obviously be aware of what your most significant brand attributes are. What makes your brand your brand? Why is it great? You have to focus on quality and on those attributes that, again, created the value in the first place. You can't look to cut corners. You can't look to make something with your brand on it that's any cheaper simply because it's going into a market that may not be able to afford it the way another market may have. You can't compromise in that regard. So it starts with what I'll call quality and a respect for an allegiance to the very brand attributes that created the value in the first place.

Now, considering Shanghai Disney is preparing to make its 2016 debut as Disney's first foray into the renminbi rich Chinese mainland after a less than stellar arrival in the former British colony of Hong Kong in 2005, there are lessons aplenty to learn from that delayed embrace and the long stalled entry into the single largest consumer market on offer to the world -- the whole of China. 


Under Mr. Iger's stewarding, Disney has partnered with the Shanghai Shendi Group, an umbrella name placed on a panoply of government-owned companies created to facilitate Western investment as a massive anti-graft campaign is just now rattling Beijing and beyond, to introduce a Disney 'branded' park to those consumers. A flag in the ground for Disney. A flag that has been in the works since the prime of Michael Eisner's reign at Disney and one that nearly collapsed entirely by the summer of 2006.


Indeed, Mr. Iger had to leave the annual Herb Allen retreat for media moguls, tech tycoons and other scripters of society in Sun Valley for an unscheduled trip to Shanghai that day in 2006, scrambling to save face and leading to a denouement worthy of great scrutiny by any company -- especially those entities whose trade is in intellectual property -- wanting to enter China.

Or, as Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin, whose real estate and entertainment empire is building its North American headquarters adjacent to the Beverly Hilton at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, said on the same panel at the Fortune Global Forum:

[W]e have so many Western companies in China, but you cannot simply replicate the Western ideas and philosophies in China. They need to adapt to the Chinese realities... So for Fortune 500 companies in China it's very important, it's imperative for them to learn traditional culture in China and how is it interrelated with the modern business culture.

Curiously though, the world beyond the berm is told the 330 million or so Chinese within a three-hour trip to the site on the other side of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport cannot wait to queue up for a boat ride on "It's a small world"or whatever Disney is offering up for its reported $5.5 billion marker. As, no, there will apparently be no attraction of that name at Shanghai Disneyland.

Not in China. Not in a country where Mickey, Minne and the rest of the gang are barely known. In a country where Disney might as well be Smith or Jones or Johnson. Well, maybe not that last one as Johnson & Johnson is actually a reasonably well-known brand throughout China.

The Walt Disney Company has a history of stumbling if not outright tumbling in its efforts to export Disney's brand of Americana. For reference, look no further than Euro Disney -- now known as Disneyland Paris -- and Hong Kong Disneyland. Of the latter, it is worth note that Disney has been known to Hongkongers from the early days of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Yet, to this day, with a direct link by MTR line to points throughout Hong Kong, Disney is barely able to keep up with the brand devoid, geographically hemmed in and animal exhibit heavy Ocean Park in Aberdeen.

Over lunch earlier this month at Neptune's in the Grand Aquarium, Ocean Park Hong Kong CEO Tom Mehrmann, who began his career as a street sweeper at Knott's Berry Farm just up the road from Walt's original Disneyland, said, "Disney still has to explain to some of its guests exactly what a 'Disney Park' is. We don't have that problem."

To further illustrate this point, visit Disney's outpost on Lantau, a parcel of reclaimed land near Hong Kong International Airport, and you will notice a different Disney. Some call it 'Disney-lite'. Others refer to it as 'McKingdom'. Regardless, there is a definite feel of a diminished product -- of a diminished brand -- on stage for the public's consumption.

For, on a spit of land with an audience topping seven million attached by subway line having a familiarity and a kinship with the West, sits the real experiment of Disney's entry into the Chinese market. And there, on a recent day, at a performance of The Lion King in a theater designed for Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando dropped into the Walt Disney Company's first Disney branded park in China, the actors sought to lead the audience in a rendition of the hit tune from this classic of Disney's second golden age of animation: Hakuna Matata.

Hakuna Matata. 
What a wonderful phrase. 
Hakuna matata. 
Ain't no passing craze.
It means no worries. 
For the rest of your days. 
It's a problem free philosophy.
Hakuna matata.

Arms raised high in the air, cast members -- on stage and off -- encouraged the capacity crowd to sing the infectious chorus. With lyrics blasting through the speakers and flashing on screens in the theater, they sought a simple singalong to the catchy and commercial hit written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Unmoved, the audience sat stone-faced. Child and adult alike.

Considering most individuals reading this are likely humming the tune or hearing it play as part of the soundtrack of their lives, that speaks poorly of Disney's penetration into the far less foreign landscape of Hong Kong. As for Shanghai, Mr. Iger continued on at the conference in Chengdu:

We're a brand that is viewed as good for me and good for my family. There are values to the Disney brand and what it stands for that have interested people all over the world. But, it's very, very important that while we bring Disney to a market we make sure that in that market it feels like, for instance, China's Disney.

In leaving the park on that recent evening, the dressed by and for Disney MTR cars filled with tired visitors exposed to, saturated in, that which is the Disney Parks experience offered up in Hong Kong. Looking to the left, to the right, all around, not one visitor had that uniquely American rite of passage positioned upon their head. Mickey ears. Not one.

And, in the second largest market for its product and the largest consumer market on the planet, Disney's Frozen, the highest grossing animated film ever having delivered over $1.27 billion in ticket sales and the fifth-highest grossing film of all time, earned little more than $48 million. Less than four percent of its global box office.

Welcome to China, Bob.

Gary Snyder is a member of the Redstone family, whose company, National Amusements, owns Viacom and CBS, among other media assets. He is an advisor on Western media and culture to China.

Hogwart's Castle in All It's Glory

Insights and Sounds blog is filled with great and rare pieces of Disney concept art from the resorts worldwide. Be it the beauty of Disneyland Paris, the amazing Tokyo DisneySea or the dismal Walt Disney Studios Paris, you can find plenty of art here that will delight you- or in the case of what could be or what was never built- frustrate you. As a relative newbie to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and both Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley at the Studios park next door, there's just not too many pieces to be found from Universal Creative. But here's one in my growing collection.

Hogwarts Castle is beautifully done! It is at once imposing and alluring- done at a scale that impresses, this does not feel like it belongs in a theme park. Yet, in an odd way, it fits in so well between Jurassic Park and The Lost Continent. If you arrive from riding the Hogswart Express, you disembark and find the streets twist and turn until the big reveal. The Forbidden Journey is a magnet attraction, but it is intense. No worries if you can't ride. Instead walk through until you come upon the last minute exit. The tour inside is as well done as any attraction in Florida. Don't miss it. 

Up until I saw how the young wizard impacted the Orlando Resort, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure were both a very nice and very good one-and-done type theme park. No longer. The concept art doesn't do the execution of it justice. Read my detailed reports here, where I cover both parks and City Walk after visiting Disney. Day Five here, and Day Six here. 

If you'd like to read more, a day by day trip report that also includes Walt Disney World, here they are, beginning with our night at Disney Springs before hitting the parks and resorts:

Walt Disney World vs. Universal Orlando Resort: Disney Springs

Does Rise of the Resistance Match the Hype- and the Rest of Disney's Hollywood Studios

An Epcot Lover's Awakening

Disney's Animal Kingdom Adventures- and a Return to Epcot

A Private Tour of Rise of the Resistance and Off to Universal

(Art copyright Universal Creative.)

Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True Life Adventure (Part Eight)

Twenty two years ago today, Disney's Animal Kingdom opened to the public. The topics of "Animals" and "Disney" had always tested well together, so Michael Eisner finally decided to approve the creation of a nature inspired park. On Earth Day, 1998, Imagineer Joe Rohde and his team celebrated their hard work. But that did not mean expansion wasn't already needed...

Here's Part Eight of an ongoing series. This look at the creation and evolution of Disney's fourth theme park in Florida is a very fascinating story. As with the first seven parts, Part Eight has rare concept art, photographs, and my personal trip reports.  

                     The image above is my favorite ad from 1998.  

A brief recap: Would guests find wild animals? That's a given. A proposed African Safari would be the highlight of the opening years. The park was stunning to look at but short on attractions. Countdown to Extinction used the Indiana Jones Adventure layout to take guests into the world of Audio-Animatronic dinosaurs. The beautifully elaborate Beastly Kingdom - land of mythical creatures-never materializes. Attractions planned for Asia, once set for opening day, are built much more modestly than originally planned.

Kali River Rapids. The proposed Tiger River Run
was certainly much larger in scale and more thrilling.
See below.

The headlining attraction for Asia was to be much far larger and more elaborate. Real tigers. Real roaring rapids were the basis for an extended safari which would entail both calm and thrilling portions, all while giving guests a full view of real life Jungle Cruise type animals. (See the image at the top of the article.)

Tiger River Run- compare the two.
Composite image courtesy marni1971.

The park map opening day.

Crowds came in droves and went home shortly after lunch. The gorgeous park was a half day event at best. It would take years to get past that deserved reputation. As with every Disney project or park or film, the story of the kingdom is full of blue sky dreams, budget cuts, intrigue, competition, disillusionment, and frustration. But it also has its fare share of successes. 

    The Safari's savannah in art form.

Need to read the first Seven articles before continuing to this installment? Start at here at Part One of my series, The Genesis, Evolution, and Revelation of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Seven parts and counting. Each article shows rare concept art, photographs, and more. Including detailed trip reports. Return to this post for our continuing story.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven

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                                     Photo by yours truly.

When we last left off, Expedition Everest was the huge shot in the arm that the park needed. Crowds began to return and stay longer. The beautiful Rivers of Light nighttime show was uneven at best and certainly unreliable, but some guests did choose to stay later than ever. Improved attendance only highlighted an ongoing problem: A three minute thrill attraction on its own did not help fill up a day.

The 2007 agreement with J.K. Rowling to bring her beloved books and movies now made Universal Orlando a force to be reckoned with. Disney's arrogant fumbling of the offer to represent Harry Potter in the theme park world left them reeling. It was time to step up their game as when the new land opened at Islands of Adventure, Universal moved from taking away several hours of a guest's trip into now occupying two days of precious vacation time- and dollars spent elsewhere than The Walt Disney World property. (As first and foremost a long time Disney park fan, thank you Harry Potter for waking up a sleeping giant!)

                                     Blue aliens to the rescue. By day...

                                     

                                  ... and by night!

The major lack of significant investment in the theme parks under the reign of Robert Iger became more apparent each year as crowds continued to leak away to the newly energized Universal Orlando. With bruised egos and an audience to capture afresh, the suits chose partnering with an interesting source of creativity, James Cameron, whose 2009 film, Avatar, was a huge success due to its breathtaking and groundbreaking imagery. 

"Does it fit the theme of the park?" This was the question on every fan's mind when the collaboration was announced- including mine. I mean, giant blue aliens coexisting with earthly animals and prehistoric beasts? And what about those floating mountains and otherworldly landscapes? If anyone could put it all together, Disney could, but they would need the best artists they had on it. The Lead Imagineer for Animal Kingdom, the passionate and quirky Joe Rohde, was assigned this very prestigious project. What a great choice he would be to steward it all. Say goodbye to Camp Minnie-Mickey!

Guests would fly on the back of a banshee.

Image from 20th Century Fox.

Two main attractions would greet opening day guests to Pandora: The expected Flight of Passage, where they'd soar on the back of a dragon like creature; and Na'vi River Journey, a slow moving boat ride through the gorgeous jungles of the planet. 

The twelve acre expansion was to become the newest park's biggest investment, topping out at just over half a billion dollars. Half a billion for a theme park land. But as I will tell you in the trip report portion of the article, you can almost see every penny spent. The end result is a land more stunning than the spectacular concept art created to promote it. 

Three pieces of concept art
for the river journey from Stephan Martiniere.

After three years of construction and a couple of delays, Pandora - The World of Avatar opened at Animal Kingdom on Memorial Day weekend in 2017. Little did I know, I would be seeing it for myself the following summer!

My first look at Pandora!

To make a very long story short, my wife and I had not been to Walt Disney World in almost a decade. Instead, we visited family, went to a variety of places in the United States, Europe and Asia, and saved our Disney park visits for Disneyland Paris and one in Walt's original kingdom. We weren't missing much as the World had clearly been focusing on resting on its laurels. All that would change when in the course of two years we would visit the World two times, once with each daughter and their families. 

 

             Trip One- Grandpa and a sweet little girl. 

First ride together in the park.

After almost a decade away, I couldn't wait to see the World and experience it as a grandpa for the first time. It's one thing to go as a young married couple or with your kids, but you see and feel the parks in a whole different way when you're older. 

During our 2018 trip, our first visit to Animal Kingdom came after breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We traveled via resort bus to Animal Kingdom. The crowds were as heavy as the air. Walking in, I had forgotten what a beautiful and peaceful place it was. The sense of calm passed once we traveled toward Pandora to get a ride on the Na'vi River Journey. The land is truly among the best work the current Imagineers have ever crafted. Tokyo DisneySea quality! You could just walk around for an hour admiring their work. And you might have to- the place is constantly packed with people. 

Had we not had a Fast Pass, the wait time for this little boat journey was an hour and a half. We wouldn't be able to ride Flight of Journey until a second day. There are so many reasons to hate Fast Pass, but I'll save those for another time. 

 Shaman of song. Singular.

From the mysterious caverns a la Pirates of the Caribbean to a slew of special lighting effects, the river journey is a strange mix of being lacking and being incredibly enticing. It's a short ride at just about 5 minutes. Yet, if you take it for what it is without expecting a real story, no narration, or any thrills, it is one chock full of little details that will take you several rides to see it all. 

Due to a lack of narration, it was hard to explain it all to the kids, especially when they saw creatures that looked scary. To them, the big blue people and scary looking animals were not reassuring. They asked,  'Who was the big blue guy at the beginning and the very weird giant lady at the end?" We quickly told them as we did a few times during our trip, "It's all make believe". A four and six year old can't easily understand the nuance of the storyline and its Gaia focused worldview. Even if it is a fantasy, there's no mistaking  there's a deliberate teaching aspect that is core to the mission of this park. So, when it is appropriate, we just consider it an opportunity to talk about the beginning of the world and creation according to the book of Genesis. God's love for us is so great that He gave us a beautiful world we should enjoy and care for!

Looking at Na'vi River Journey from an Imagineering standpoint, I would have appreciated even a few Audio-Animatronic animals and even a hunter or two to bring some depth to it all. The thrills aren't needed. They're inherent in an adventure world something humans do not get to see. The whole thing succeeds as a secondary attraction. It's truly a lovely experience, but you can tell where the budget was cut. Too bad as I love Disney dark rides where boats are the vehicle for the journey. 

From an attraction roster standpoint, it fills a much needed gap between a couple of spinners, shows, E Tickets, and animal trails and exhibits, something the dark rides of Disneyland fill. Besides, it's great to have a calming boat ride in the park! There's so much water in Animal Kingdom and so few ways to experience it.

Beautiful during the day but a must-see at night!

The end of the night show.

As for the rest of this first trip, we loved the new placement of the Lion King show. It is finally in the land in which it belonged from the beginning. Everest still rocks- and the nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari, unfortunately, did not. Very few animals that we did not see during our daytime trip. 

Due to some time restraints, we had to choose between Rivers of Light and seeing Pandora at night. No contest! If you think this new area is a masterpiece during the daytime, the nighttime visit will make you appreciate the art of Imagineering all over again. All I can say is, it is too bad this park doesn't stay open late regularly. Our second trip on Na'vi was just as beautiful to me as our first. We slowly walked out of the park, taking in all the sights. With the addition, I would now consider the park a 3/4 day experience, and it has nowhere to go but up. 

I just love Animal Kingdom! It's Adventureland on steroids!

The promotional hype is exceeded by what was built!

I'm going to highlight my comments about Flight of Passage with photos from our second trip, this one in 2018. These kids were slightly older than our other grandkids and had not been to Disney World before. Their perspectives were a bit different. In my mind, they rounded out my feelings for the park and all the enhancements made since our earlier visit in 2009.

With these cute little travelers, Disney's Animal Kingdom came in last place when compared to all the parks. (Almost a year later, it did move up to Number One for one grandson. Why? Expedition Everest! Like grandfather, like grandson.)  In their minds, for all its beauty and adventures, Animal Kingdom was nothing more than a fancy zoo. They wanted rides. In this area alone, the park fell short for them, and it was hard to argue otherwise. 

Kevin brings the biggest smiles of the day

to these adorable little guys.

We were staying at Pop Century, and  due to the coming Hurricane Dorian, the parks were absolutely empty. Very unexpected but a delightful find. Animal Kingdom fell on Day Two of our trip.

With a very late night and the little guys exhausted, we left them sleep in. But we missed both our 8:30am Kilimanjaro Safari and almost missed our Expedition Everest Fast Pass times. No matter. Everything was a walk on- except in Pandora. Of course.

Photopass was put to good use. Often!

My oldest daughter declared "Big Thunder on steroids" a winner. The two boys loved it in spite of it putting the fear of God into them, and once we got off, they immediately wanted to ride again. We stopped in the exit shop nearby to buy them an Everest T-shirt to commemorate them braving the mountain, just as I did last year with their cousin. Brand new designs, which was kind of fun that each group got something unique to the year of their trip. 

We made a decision to take our little granddaughter on something she was tall enough for: Kali River Rapids. Smiles all around- even after getting soaked. Or was it because of it?

Her smile says it all. She is charming!

Kali has a gorgeous queue, perhaps the prettiest in all of the park. Such a waste for a journey less than half the length of what was originally planned when it would be Tiger River Run. (Check previous installments of the series for more information.) There were no fire effects working, no logging sounds, zero. Just one big drop after a few spins, and it was over. Even our little adventurer was surprised how short it is. Kids say the darnedest things!

I'm going to quote my previous trip report because it is so telling: "The Safari was next, and the experience landed with a collective thud. I miss the opening days when drivers from the African continent were present. I miss the days I couldn't see so much chain link fence, and being we rode around noon, we missed seeing most of the animals. An antelope doesn't cut it, but at least the lion was out. Looking back through our photos, none of us had taken one single shot of anything related to the park's centerpiece attraction! Gorilla Falls did not charm the kids either. This visit - our only day in this park- was going downhill quickly. Very, very quickly."

I quickly suggested the winning Festival of the Lion King. The kids reluctantly gave it a shot. We went in, and once the giant character floats and particularly the monkey gymnasts came in, they were infinitely more interested. 

We were getting closer to our last ride time of the day, Flight of Passage. Finally. But we did have a small bit of time. We circled back to Everest for another ride. I made it to the last seat, my favorite. As we rounded the bend to Dinosaur, it was raining very hard again. I was excited to take them all on this, and we glad left our littlest traveler on the sidelines. Even the older boys were frightened by it all. The ride was another average experience. 

The Valley of Moriah???

I can't remember much anything specific about this movie.

Finally Pandora! It was a mere 15 minutes to take the boat ride. Good thing, as it was another "meh" rated experience in their minds. But I knew Flight of Passage would impress them- or so I hoped. The boys loved it. Our granddaughter was too little, so we needed to make use of the baby swap option. Some of us rode twice. This ride was just as exciting and fresh as the others before it. It's beautiful, thrilling, scenic, and repeatable. A home run! Honestly, I now have to say Flight of Passage is my new favorite ride in this park- and even in all of Walt Disney World.

So, was Pandora in theme with the rest of the park? Surprisingly, it fit in fairly well. There needs to be more animals to seal the deal. Perhaps there's expansion plans to the area to include a trail or some other ride where we can see those giant banshees in real not "reel" life. But, yes, it fits in beautifully. 

On our way to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner Boma, I asked everyone what they thought of the park. Not a flattering answer: "Pretty but really just a zoo". They were very glad it was only one day of our trip. They told me they wouldn't go back next trip unless there were many more attractions. Real rides. 

Everyone experiences the Disney theme parks in very different ways. We come with thoughts of what a Disney park should be. For me, this lush giant Adventureland is about soaking in all the details and seeing the creative work of the Imagineers. It's a nice change of pace from doing a park one ride after another.   

Safari expedition- definitely better during the day.

In a park with so few attractions and even fewer ones that everyone can ride, the next expansion of the park has to be very strategic. It has to be able to draw in the whole family. Will it be Indiana Jones themed as rumors suggest? The suits and Imagineers made huge steps forward with Pandora, but will it be enough when Universal opens its third park and stiff arms the competition with Nintendo World? They are upping the game once again! Now that Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge has opened at the Studios and Epcot is getting a few new attractions, Animal Kingdom could take a big attendance hit in the future. Or be left behind totally. Magic Kingdom will always be the top Florida park if for nothing but sentimental reasons.

As for me, I find the creation and evolution of this park fascinating! It may be due to the fact that it's the newest on the property, but I believe Disney's Animal Kingdom has the most potential to be consistent in theme and execution- as long as Joe Rohde is around, that is.
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Thanks for reading Part Eight of the series. I'd love to get your feedback and insights on it!

(Photographs copyright Mark Taft. All artwork copyright The Walt Disney Company.)